She reached down to button her pants, took a deep breath and moved to sit next to me on the bench. “Think it’s the way my Aunt Carly raised me. She always told me to look past a first impression in case it’s the wrong impression. I sort of did just step out of the sixties. My aunt lives in this commune called The Grog. Just a bunch of artists, organic farmers, people who like to sit around, get high and debate worldly stuff. It was actually a pretty cool place to grow up. It’s one of the reasons I don’t have a cell phone. Too much connection to the industrial world.”

“Sounds cool. But I do wish you had a phone, especially with what happened today. Although, we don’t use them much around here because all the fucking planets have to be lined up just right for there to be any reception.”

She laughed. “So I’ve heard. I guess there’s some disadvantage to living in this kind of setting.”

I dropped my arm around her. The ache in my cock was slowly subsiding. I knew I’d be thinking about her every minute, and I’d feel it in my cock as much as in my heart and head but I wasn’t willing to toss this away. She needed to want it just as badly. “Tash, I talked to my dad. I got nowhere, of course, but he’s—well, he’s on a lot of meds. He’s dying.”

She looked over at me. “I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m not saying that to get him any sympathy. He doesn’t deserve it. I don’t either. He’s dying, and that’s the way it is. I can’t say that I feel either way about it. There’s never been anything right about my dad, but I think this town sort of helped shape him. In fact, a better word would be twist. There was an accident when he was young and a girl died. My dad never talks about it, but I know the town blamed him. He decided to live up to the reputation.”

“But why would he have taken the newspaper?”

I shook my head. “Can’t explain that, but I can promise you he wasn’t the person to tie you onto that log cradle. He can barely hold his beer can anymore. A lot of shit happened when I was a kid, stuff that I tried hard to push out of my head. It was easier to just deny than to accept that my dad was an asshole. Dane’s older than me, and he was alone at home with dad when I was in doing time. He knows more, but as you might have noticed, he’s sort of in his own world most of the time. When he’s in the right mood, I’ll sit down and talk to him. In the meantime, I’ve got an old car in the garage. I’ll get it started, so I can drive you to work. No more sitting alone at that damn bus stop before the sun comes up.” I turned her face to me and kissed her. “My car will be much warmer . . . and we could do stuff.”

“Stuff is good.” She leaned against me. “Jem, what happened today really scared me.”

“Scared the hell out of me too, Woodstock.”

Chapter 15

Tashlyn

There was no sense in having Jem drop me off a few blocks away from Everly’s house. Now, after he’d walked me out of the store, it was pretty much known by the whole town, or at least all of the shoppers in Gregor’s Market, that the new girl had gotten herself tangled up with the infamous Jem Wolfe. And as tangled as it all seemed to be, I was happy to be caught.

Jem’s bike rumbled in the driveway as he watched me get safely inside. It was past eleven, and I was hoping that Everly had already gone to bed. I was still in a delightful daze after my evening with Jem, and I wasn’t quite ready to get in a debate with Everly.

The house was quiet, but the kitchen light was still on. Everly walked out wearing her flannel pajamas. I couldn’t read the expression on her face.

The words I’d been practicing in my head on the ride home flowed without me summoning them. “Everly, I know what you’re going to say, and believe me, you’re the last person I want to disappoint. But—”

“Actually, Tash, I don’t think you know what I was planning to say.” I stood there dumbfounded as she wrapped her arms around me. She stepped back and laughed at my stunned expression. She took my hand, and we walked to the couch. “I’ll admit, when you first walked out of the store with Jem, I was disappointed, no—hurt—because it seemed that my opinion just didn’t matter.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but she held her hand up to stop me. “No wait, let me finish. When you stood out on the sidewalk with him and he took hold of your face and kissed you, all I could think was that I wanted someone to kiss me like that.” Her eyes glassed with tears as she spoke. “And the way you were looking at him, I knew that it was more than just a crush on a hot guy. You see in Jem something that others don’t see. It’s the same with me when I look at Finn.” She chuckled. “And Finn’s not even all that hot, but he’s what I want.” She smiled. “And because of you, I decided to go see him. He’s recovering at home, and I brought him one of my famous chicken salad sandwiches.”

“What did I do to prompt that?”

“You gave me confidence to look past this.” She lifted her withered arm. “I figured if I’ve got a friend like Tashlyn Younglove, then I must be pretty damn cool, definitely cool enough to win over Finn Harris. Of course, the fact that I can make a mean chicken salad among other kitchen delights doesn’t hurt. He’s kind of a man who appreciates good food. But it’s not just knowing you, Tash. You’ve said so many things to help build my self-esteem. Something I was sure I’d lost for good.”

I hugged her. “I’m the one that’s lucky, Everly.” I sat back and raised a questioning brow at her. “So, how did the visit go?”

A pink blush covered her cheeks. “Let’s just say I’ll be bringing him another sandwich tomorrow. Plus oatmeal cookies. Talking to Finn helped me forgive Jem for stealing you away too. Finn said if it hadn’t been for Jem, he would have drowned for sure. He’d been knocked out cold by the swinging log. My uncle, well that’s a different story. He was even telling me I should rethink having you as a roommate if you’re going to hang out with the town trash.”

I winced at the harsh words her uncle had used. “I’m sorry if I caused a problem, but your uncle is wrong. I know he’s known Jem for a long time, but I just know he’s wrong about him.”

“Don’t worry about Uncle Landon. I told him I’m a big girl who doesn’t need looking after anymore. He means well.” She gasped. “I almost forgot.” She hopped up from the couch and walked over to the small table in the entryway. She picked up an envelope. “Your aunt wrote you a letter.” She shook her head. “My mom’s away for months and I’m lucky if I get a phone call on Sunday night. You’ve been gone less than two weeks and your aunt has already written two letters.” She handed me the slightly tattered envelope.

It had been taped shut on the back. I laughed. “It looks like she sent it to Blackthorn Ridge by route through India. Apparently, she sealed it shut and then remembered something else she just had to tell me. She’d never waste a second envelope—”

“Let me guess,” Everly interrupted, “because of the trees?”

“Yep.” I rubbed my hand along the bottom. There was something solid inside. “Ooh, she sent me something. I hope it’s one her macramé headbands. I lost mine somewhere on the bus trip. If you don’t mind, Ever, I think I’ll go to my room and read it.”

“Not at all.”

I stood up, but she reached for my hand.

“Tash”—her tone had changed—“just be careful not to get heartbroken. No matter what you say about Jem, he’s never lacked attention from girls. It’s only the daring ones, mind you, because most of the girls in town are terrified of what would happen if their parents found them with Jem. Just keep a lock on your heart.”

“I will, Ever. Thanks.” I walked to the bedroom and shut the door. It had been my first moment alone since Jem had dropped me off. I closed my eyes and thought about his hands between my legs and how easily I’d submitted to his touch. And even more shocking, how easily he’d made me climax. My head was fuzzy with thoughts of Jem Wolfe, and it seemed that Everly’s last words of caution, to lock up my heart, had come too late.